Monday, January 28, 2008

DJ Shadow/Cut Chemist-The Hard Sell Tour...

Double Dee and Steinski, two living legends, were the opening act and were worth the price of the ticket to me. They even did part of Lesson #3...Now, Shadow and Cut Chemist were performing with 8 turntables, only 45's (7-inches), echo boxes, and loop effects pedals, and nothing else, none of their computers or keyboards or other things. They had marked loops on the 45's with tape. The preceding video explanation of the Hard Sell Tour was probably the highlight of their set for me. It was really well-done. The Fillmore NY @ Irving Plaza is a nice cozy venue, but it is impossible to see anything going on onstage, not to mention DJ's are usually pretty repetitive and boring to watch doing their thing, though the concept of the show was really interesting to me.

Some events coming up at Fillmore are Feb 29th, the English Beat!!

Saturday, January 26, 2008

I can name that candidate in two notes. Name that tune.

from www.dummocrats.com

Exclusive! Presidential Candidates Choose Their Theme Songs

January 07, 2008

Many people say that a Presidential candidate's choice of a running mate is their first important decision and is a reflection of the wisdom (or lack thereof) they'd govern with. I respectfully disagree. I believe that any candidates' first important decision is their campaign theme song. Think about it - would Ronald Reagan's "Morning in America" campaign be the same without the strains of "Born in the USA"? Would Bill Clinton have effectively communicated his "change" message as well if "Don't Stop (Thinking About Tomorrow)" wasn't his theme song. Of course not.

With that in mind, we're pleased to reveal the official campaign 2008 theme songs:

The Democrats

Hillary Clinton: Most pundits expected Clinton to go with Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'". They felt the song reflected Clinton's campaign for a better future. However, in the last few week's, Clintonites have come to the bitter realization that Hillary is not the candidate for change. Her voters don't want change, they want to go back in time to when heroin chic was chic, the nation was approaching zero unemployment and 9/11 was a number, not a date. Hillary's official song, Prince's 1999 conjures up that yearning for a more innocent time.

John Edwards: In a Dem field featuring a black man, Hispanic man and white woman, someone has to appeal to the good 'ole white male. John Edwards' theme, Ben Folds' "Rocking The Suburbs" does just that with lines like:

y'all don't know what it's like
being male, middle class and white

Mike Gravel: The crusty Alaskan will find his voice with the protest of punk of The Clash's "What's My Name?"

Dennis Kucinich: Never one to bow to convention, Kucinich's theme song, The Stray Cats' "Flying Saucer Rock 'N Roll" will remind voters of one of his more embarrassing revelations.

Barack Obama: As a candidate, Obama is all about the power of positive thinking. With him as President, we can change the world. Some might think that's too naive. In any case, his feel-good campaign will be powered by upbeat tempo and message of Elvis Costello's "Peace, Love and Understanding"

Bill Richardson: The New Mexican Governor communicates a very simple, yet powerful, message through his theme song - Simple Minds' "Don't You (Forget About Me).

The Republicans

Rudy Giuliani: Like Mike Gravel, Rudy, not surprisingly, goes with a Clash song, in his case it's the obvious "Rudie, Can't Fail. Giuliani staffers hope that the electorate ignores lyrics like:

How you get a-rude and a-reckless
Don't you be so crude and a-feckless
You bin drinking brew for breakfast

Mike Huckabee: Huckabee may not believe in evolution, but he's definitely a "Daydream Believer. Clever voters will appreciate that the campaign chose a song by The Monkees. ;-)

John McCain: While McCain's choice of "All At Once" by The Fray may seem uninspired, a quick look at the lyrics show exactly what the campaign is going for:

There are certain people you just keep coming back to She is right in front of you You begin to wonder could you find a better one Compared to her now she's in question

And all at once the crowd begins to sing
Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same

Maybe you want her maybe you need her
Maybe you started to compare to someone not there

Looking for the right one you line up the world to find
Where no questions cross your mind
But she won't keep on waiting for you without a doubt
Much longer for you to sort it out

The GOP didn't think they need John McCain. But now, with the rise of Huckabee, the small government folks are starting to realize that they won't find a better one.

Ron Paul: Angry Paul supporters will undoubtedly get behind the campaign's theme song Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It". Libertarians and Libertarian-leaning Republicans will also appreciate the nod to Dee Snider's campaign against big government censorship.

Mitt Romney: Romney's choice of Eddie Money's "Two Tickets to Paradise" is really no more than a simple reminder to folks that Romney doesn't need three tickets to paradise. Know what I'm sayin'?

Fred Thompson: Following Fred's tough talk on terror, his theme song, REM's "It's The End Of The World As We Know It" seems even more appropriate. The Thompson campaign wants voters to be well aware that if we don't vote for Fred we're all gonna die.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

2008 is the Year for MY Rat-tlin' Comeback...












from http://www.springsgreetingcards.com

February 7, 2008 - January 25, 2009 (Earth)

According to the Chinese Zodiac, the Year of 2008 is a Year of the Rat (Earth), which begins on February 7, 2008 and ends on January 25, 2009. First in the cycle of 12 Animal signs, Rat Year begins the sequence and recurs every twelfth year. It is a time of renewal in so many ways.

A Rat Year is a time of hard work, activity, and renewal. This is a good year to begin a new job, get married, launch a product or make a fresh start. Ventures begun now may not yield fast returns, but opportunities will come for people who are well prepared and resourceful. The best way for you to succeed is to be patient, let things develop slowly, and make the most of every opening you can find. People born in an Earth Rat are said to be logical realists, shrewd, charming, ambitious, and inventive. Of course, the entire horoscope must be considered when making any personality assessment.

In Chinese, the Rat is respected and considered a courageous, enterprising person. People born in the Year of Rat are clever and bright, sociable and family-minded. They have broad interests and strong ability in adapting to the environment and able to react adequately to any changes.

They are gifted in many ways and have an easy going manner. They are active and pleasant, tactful and fantastic, and are able to grasp opportunities. They seem to have interests in everything and hope to participate in doing it and usually do it very well.

GUNG HAY FAT CHOY!

The Best Method for Recording Cassette Tape to your Mac


Still trying to transfer tape to your ITunes? Not having much luck? I know I'm a bit late on this topic, but research has been kinda fruitless on the subject for me, so after much searching on the internet and failed attempts at using GarageBand which is supposed to be super easy, I came across a better way to record tapes, Audio Hijack plus LineIn...There is a nominal fee for Audio Hijack, but it is superbly useful for other things such as recording Internet radio, WindowsMediaPlayer, RealPlayer, and other types of media files, and LineIn is a freebie by the same company, Rogue. Plug in your stereo with cassette player to your line in on your computer and then sync Audio Hijack with the LineIn application and voila...There's actually a little Effects section in Audio Hijack which allows you to finetune your levels too...

By the way, the recordable tape was introduced to Europe in 1963 by Philips.

Originally designed for dictation, tapes soon became used for home recording and even data storage for computers.

My favorite PSA...Happy Plant from the 90's show, Dinosaurs

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

I didn't see this at the time, but bartering for the better online worked apparently...

Thanks Alex, for turning me onto this story...

From paper-clip to house, in 14 trades

Last Updated: Friday, July 7, 2006 | 10:38 PM ET

A 26-year-old Montreal man appears to have succeeded in his quest to barter a single, red paper-clip all the way up to a house.

It took almost a year and 14 trades, but Kyle MacDonald has been offered a two-storey farmhouse in Kipling, Sask., for a paid role in a movie.

Kyle MacDonald makes friends with Alice Cooper.
Kyle MacDonald makes friends with Alice Cooper.

MacDonald began his quest last summer when he decided he wanted to live in a house. He didn't have a job, so instead of posting a resumé, he looked at a red paper-clip on his desk and decided to trade it on an internet website.

He got a response almost immediately — from a pair of young women in Vancouver who offered to trade him a pen that looks like a fish.

MacDonald then bartered the fish pen for a handmade doorknob from a potter in Seattle.

n Massachusetts, MacDonald traded the doorknob for a camp stove. He traded the stove to a U.S. marine sergeant in California for a 100-watt generator.

In Queens, N.Y., he exchanged the generator for the "instant party kit" — an empty keg and an illuminated Budweiser beer sign.

MacDonald then traded the keg and sign for a Bombardier snowmobile, courtesy of a Montreal radio host.

He bartered all the way up to an afternoon with rock star Alice Cooper, a KISS snow globe and finally a paid role in a Corbin Bernsen movie called Donna on Demand.

"Now, I'm sure the first question on your mind is, "Why would Corbin Bernsen trade a role in a film for a snow globe? A KISS snow globe," MacDonald said on his website "one red paper-clip."

"Well, Corbin happens to be arguably one of the biggest snow globe collectors on the planet."

Now, the town of Kipling, Sask., located about two hours east of Regina with a population of 1,100, has offered MacDonald a farmhouse in exchange for the role in the movie.

MacDonald and his girlfriend will fly to the town next Wednesday.

"We are going to show them the house, give them the keys to the house and give them the key to the town and just have some fun," said Pat Jackson, mayor of Kipling.

The town is going to hold a competition for the movie role.

MacDonald said: "There's people all over the world that are saying that they have paper-clips clipped to the top of their computer, or on their desk or on their shirt, and it proves that anything is possible and I think to a certain degree it's true."

MacDonald, who has attracted international media in his quest, said the journey has turned out to be more exciting than the goal.

"This is not the end. This may be the end of this segment of the story, but this story will go on. "

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Amanda Blank + Spank Rock DJ's Thursday...

What! I'm Listening to...(Part 5)

It's been awhile since my last installment of What! I'm Listening to...without further ado...

Yeah, I jumped on the Amy Winehouse bandwagon...Juan Fernando Velasco and Francisco Cespedes are great Latin finds if you like Spanish pop balladeers...The Buenos Aires band, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs combines Latin with Ska...I love Celia Cruz, too (you might remember her from such movies as Mambo Kings and Dirty Dancing 2: Havana Nights) and El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico...For silly hiphop thrills, I've been turned onto Ugly Duckling and Lil' Mama after her "Lipgloss" song, and all this after being hooked on Fannypack and K7 from the soundtrack, "Stick It" though I've liked K7 since '97 when they released, "Hideho"...Because I like silliness sometimes, I've become a bit fond of Cobra Starship, too (I personally think they made the movie "Snakes on a Plane" just to include the video by Cobra Starship...Jack Johnson is about to drop a new album in February which I am excited about (I saw the video for "What You Thought You Need" and it is Jack through and through, which is a good thing, to me, that is)...For those of you into gospel, I heard the single, "Declaration (This is It) of "The Fight of My Life" by Kirk Franklin, it's pretty nice...Most of his stuff is hit or miss with me, but he got it right with this song...Scion and Darko of Spank Rock put together a pretty hot compilation. Also, that Plastic Little is a bit disturbing in the same vein that Spank Rock is...Edgewater, Florida's Diplo is worth a mention as is Chi-Town's Kid Sister...Alex turned me onto The Spill Canvas and Damien Rice, too...Damn that Alicia Keys with her catchy sappy love songs that I can't help but to push rewind after the song has played once to hear it again...Until the next time, "kiss me like it's the last time you'll see me"...

What's really on the menu?

It was bound to happen...Those unwanted pounds and the risk of diabetes have made EVEN ME eat smarter and care about nutritional facts so...This probably would deter me from ordering whatever I want on the menu when I'm standing in line looking up at the board...

from www.injuryboard.com

New York City's Fast Food Menu Mandate by Jane Akre

In an effort to get New Yorkers to eat healthier, city officials have decided that fast-food chains must display the number of calories each fare offers. The calorie count would be right on the menu, the theory being that consumers would then make healthier choices.

A federal judge has argued that a previously issued rule by the Board of Health should apply to all establishments, not just those that had previously volunteered to post nutritional information on their menus. Fast food establishments make up about ten percent of 23,000 eateries in the city.

As for fast food giants like McDonalds and Burger King, that information is already available if customers search for it, albeit with a bit of difficulty (ala the film, Supersize Me).

Now restaurants will have to add the calorie counts to menus for all to see. Other establishments such as I-HOP would offer information to the public for the first time scaring customers by making them aware of exactly how many calories they are consuming.

Expect to see the new regulations in place by March 31st if approved by the board which is expected. The mandate applies to chains with 15 or more restaurants in the country and is part of an initiative by Mayor Michael Bloomberg to fight obesity and diabetes

New York is leading the nation in trying to impose healthier eating awareness and fight the obesity epidemic. Last year the city banned trans-fats in cooking oil.

The city’s Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Frieden tells the New York Daily News, “Some people may choose to ignore (the calorie information) and that’s totally fine. But other people will sue it to choose healthier food.”

Estimates are that regulations could prevent some 150,000 New Yorkers from becoming obese and reduce 30,000 cases of diabetes from developing over the next five years.

No word on whether the New York Restaurant Association will sue again as it did when the first round of regulations were proposed. Justin Wilson of the Center for Consumer Freedom calls the city’s “Nanny-state public health policies.”

>>Here's a page on Healthy Fast Food eating too...

Monday, January 21, 2008

Internet Games of Interest

Dexter and the Runaway Robot Game...A great way to occupy me...

Miniclip is a nice little site to play internet games, Bloxorz is my favorite...

Fugly.com has a nice selection, too...My favorite IQ challenge is Matter.

This is dedicated to Trav...He's a breastesses man...



The 1916 and early 1917 Standing Liberty Quarters depict Miss Liberty with her right breast exposed. Due the immediate public outcry, the design was quickly modified. Thanks to History Detectives, another key piece of coin history is learned...

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Yeah, that's right...I got my paw in your cup...

While on the subject, here's Germ's cat...



This is the catchiest pet store jingle of all time...

It's CUTE ANIMAL time...

Courtesy of Lisa V.

What Pets Do While We're at Work









Also, if you want more like this, Joan turned me onto CuteOverload.com

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Kickin' It Old School and when will the Japanese and Koreans achieve peace?


The Gamblerz vs. Ichegeki

If you haven't seen it, you gotta check out "Kickin' It Old School"...This is my new favorite movie. Children of the 80's unite...

Monday, January 14, 2008

Rakim? Chuck D? Luv bug Starski? All under one roof...



Courtesy of Motoko...

Experiments in Chemistry...



Maybe we'll never decide who the freshmaker really is C, but then again at least we can share youtube videos...Thanks...

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Upcoming Show: January 25-See Division X, Clean out your closet...

Support Picture the Homeless...The show is at Bronx Museum of the Arts...Get details here.

North says: Even if ya can't come, please spread da word to someone who can. Do it for da people of New York. Do it because it's the right thing to do.






Books on the Menu...

Saber...Shepard Fairey...Miss Van...Espo...

The Future of the Screen....





Oh yeah, and what's up with how thin computers are now? No more optical drives? Everything wireless? Check out the Apple Macbook Air...

Retiring and doing whatever you want, well, within reason...

Bill, happy retirement to you!...

Tuesday, January 08, 2008

My newest favorite cartoons and Hip Hop Harry...

Cyberchase is an educational mathematics kids show on PBS that I became kind of addicted to recently. I love the evil nemesis of "Motherboard's", Hacker. Digit the robot bird is kind of a strange character, but in the mystery/adventure-solving sleuth formula of cartoon kids, the gang is bright and uses the scientific method approach to problem-solving. A must-see for youngins. Entertaining and highly intelligent.



I also like Skunk Fu...It's in the vein of Happy Tree Friends in the way that the animals are drawn in a cutesy way, but the characters are hilarious...

[SkunkFU3.jpg]




Hip Hop Harry is a kids show that I like to watch the end of for the "Hip Hop Harry Dance Circle..." This is when I realize how "hiphop" has changed from when I was a kid...

There's this video of the comparison between Barney (no challenge) with competitor Hip Hop Harry for battle for supremacy of kids shows...

Barney V.S. Hip Hop Harry - Funny videos are here


From Washintonpost.com
Some Memorable Moments in Cartoon History

Sunday, October 23, 2005; Page B02

1920s: The first animated character to fill theaters in the silent-film era, Felix the Cat, became so popular that his gaping grin was reproduced on mugs, watches and other merchandise. Although he was soon eclipsed in movie theaters by talking cartoons, Felix's fortunes revived when he began airing on TV in the 1950s.

1928: Synchronizing sound with on-screen action, Walt Disney's Steamboat Willie launched Mickey Mouse on his cruise to stardom.

1930: The eight-minute musical adventure, "Sinkin' in the Bathtub," was the first Looney Tune, created by two ex-Disney animators.

1937: Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the first full-length animated feature film.

1940: The first collaboration of William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, Tom and Jerry traces the foiled efforts of gray house cat Tom to catch brown mouse Jerry and the resulting, sometimes sadistic, mayhem. With little vocalization beyond the animals' shrieks of pain and panicked gulps, the shorts are renowned for their slapstick violence, recently parodied in "The Simpsons' " cartoon within a cartoon, "Itchy and Scratchy."

1949: The Road Runner cartoons, a takeoff on traditional cat-and-mouse antics, featured Wile E. Coyote, who never kills his Road Runner quarry and typically ends up injuring himself.

1960: The first animated sitcom on prime time TV, The Flintstones, was designed to appeal to the whole family. Each half-hour episode showcased the challenges of contemporary working-class life in a stone-age setting.

1987: Created as a series of 30-second filler spots for "The Tracey Ullman Show," The Simpsons has become the longest-running TV comedy series ever. The original shorts were so successful that "The Simpsons" premiered on the Fox network as a 30-minute Christmas special in 1989 and then began as a regular series the following month.

1992 : A cable channel created by Ted Turner, the Cartoon Network started out in 2 million households and three years later was available in 22 million.

1995 : As the first 3-D computer- generated feature film, Toy Story opened new horizons in animation.

1997 : Comedy Central's South Park, a provocative adult parody of small-town life in Colorado,pushed new limits with its surreal depiction of contemporary events and often crude language.

2001: With the advent of Flash animation in the late '90s, a whole new cartoon era was born in the unrestricted world of the Internet, including programs such as Happy Tree Friends.